On Wings of the Phoenix
by Usami
Summary: The power of Eastern magic...A sorceress who isn't as she appears to be...A chance to finally be normal...All these things force Marron Glace to question the hand destiny dealt him, ensuring upon him the adventure of a lifetime.
1. Prologue

So, this was just an interesting story that I had in a dream, and I've been spending the past few months trying to develop this story. Okay. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Apricot gently rocked the small baby in her arms. The baby boy rubbed his eyes, and Apricot sighed happily. 'My second child,' she thought. "Marron," she said softly.

At the sound of his name, the baby gurgled a bit.

Apricot sighed again, this time a little sadder. She wished that she didn't have to go on a mission at the moment, especially since she had two children to raise now. 'Carrot is enough trouble, but now I have a 2-month old baby to raise too,' she slightly complained.

But she was a sorcerer hunter. And a sorcerer hunter always had to complete missions that they accepted, even if it meant their lives.

Though she wouldn't have to go on this mission if it wasn't for Onion. He always seemed to do things that he didn't really mean to do.

So now she had to go on a mission. And, just like always, she might not come back.

As if sensing what his mother was thinking, baby Marron began to cry.

She sighed, rocking him gently. Looking out at the river that flowed by their home in Mount St. Hordic, she decided to sing softly.

**"Hush now, my baby  
****Be still love, don't cry  
****Sleep like you're rocked by the stream  
****Sleep and remember, my lullaby  
****And I'll be with you when you dream"**

She looked down at the baby in her arms, who began to settle deeper in her arms. His cries slowly ceased, and were replaced by gurgles as he began to play with his mother's hair. She felt herself smile.

**"Drift on a river  
****That flows through my arms  
****Drift as I'm singing to you  
****I see you smiling, so peaceful and calm  
****And holding you I'm smiling too"**

She held the baby closer to her, wishing never to leave the boy alone. She wanted to be there for her children, especially for someone who was so young. It just felt right, a mother holding her baby in her arms, just like any regular mother would with their regular baby.

**"Here in my arms,  
****Safe from all harm  
****Holding you I'm smiling too"**

But she knew that Marron would be different than other children, just as she was different from other mothers. Because of her ability to use Eastern Magic, there was a possibility that Marron might have it too.

She had a feeling, however, that he would have it. She had a feeling-mother's instinct, if you will-that Marron would be able to use Eastern Magic.

The baby gurgled again, and she looked down at him. She wanted to be here for her growing boy, but because of her job as a sorcerer hunter, she knew that she would be away most of the time.

So she had to settle with the lullaby she sang to him, hoping he could remember her.

**"Hush now, my baby  
****Be still love, don't cry  
****Sleep like you're rocked by the stream  
****Sleep and remember, this river lullaby  
****And I'll be with you when you dream"**

'Don't worry, little Marron,' she thought. 'Even when it looks as though I'm not here, I will be, and I will help you though anything.'

**"Here in my arms,  
****Safe from all harm  
****Holding you I'm smiling too"**

She watched as the baby in her arms fell into a peaceful slumber. She hoped he would have peaceful dreams, in a place where he could be safe until the day _he _becomes a sorcerer hunter, since Apricot knew Big Mama would ask him when he was at the right age.

**"Sleep and remember, this river lullaby  
****And I'll be with you when you dream  
****Sleep and remember, this river lullaby  
****And I'll be with you when you dream  
****I'll be with you when you dream"**

"Apricot?" a familiar, feminine voice said gently. Turning around, Apricot smiled as she saw Milphey-Yu, the cross-dressing Haz-Knight.

"Yes?"

"It's time to go."

"Right," she replied, stepping towards him. She stopped, though. "Where's Carrot?"

"He's with Onion right now. They're waiting for us."

"Okay." Gently, Milphey-Yu took the sleeping baby from his mother. Baby Marron stirred slightly for a minute, but settled down again.

Apricot smiled at her child. She found that she didn't want to go to on the mission now.

"You'll be back," Milphey-Yu reassured her. "You'll see your children again. Don't worry."

"I know." Leaning towards the child, Apricot gently stroked the raven bangs that were growing.

"Sleep well, little Marron."

* * *

A reddish-glowing figure sat, watching the reflecting glass with the image of a woman and her baby son with interest.

"Brother?" The glowing figure turned to look behind him, to see a bluish-glowing figure standing there. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Watching this mortal and her son, Sister," he replied.

"A mortal?" the bluish-glowing figure almost scoffed. "What's so interesting about a mortal?"

"An Eastern Magic user," he replied. "A rare kind of mortal among the human kind. And her son……though a baby, he has the potential to use Eastern Magic too."

"So? There are some of their species that can use Eastern Magic."

He shook his head. "No. This baby……He's the reincarnated form of Yaksha."

She gasped. "Yaksha?!" she repeated. "A Pillar God?!"

He nodded. "Yes."

"How do you know?!"

"I'm not sure. But I know for sure that that boy is Yaksha's reincarnated form."

"But……wouldn't that mean……?"

"Indeed. The god of Destruction has also been reborn into a solid form."

"What's to be done?"

"We must let fate take its course, and let the other Pillar Gods take form, and _they_ will be the ones to defeat the god of Destruction."

The bluish-glowing figure shook her head, leaving her 'brother' alone.

The reddish-glowing figure returned his watch towards the looking-glass. 'Marron Glace,' he mused. 'I expect great things from you. Yaksha……you have finally returned to this plain.'

TBC

The glowing figures will make more sense in later chapters. I know I'm making this revolve around Marron, but I mean can you blame me? In both the anime and manga, he's taken a back seat because of his brother or the girls, and he doesn't really play much of a role besides 'the quiet, rational person' and 'the devoted younger brother of the hero.' So, if you notice with my other stories, they have Marron as the star, just because I believe he's not used enough in actuality. But, remember, that's just my opinion.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story!! More to come soon!!!!


	2. Chapter 1

This story is harder to write than I thought…Oh well, here it is after a _long _wait…

* * *

Looking around, the waiter noticed a man sitting nearby, his head down on the table. The waiter sighed, shaking his head. It was _him_ again…

Walking to the man, he gentle shook him awake. "Sir…" he said.

Onion awoke with a jolt. "Whassit…?" he asked, his speech slightly slurred.

"Sir…"

The drunken man slowly got up, only to sit back in his chair again. "Gimmie another bottle of sake…" he muttered.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but until you pay for your other bottles, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Ah, c'mon…"

"I'm sorry, Sir, but…"

"Maybe you should let him have his drink," a feminine voice said. Turning around, the waiter came face to face with a lady dressed in elegant clothing, a middle-aged man standing behind her. What was really noticeable, however, was the triangle on her forehead.

'A sorceress,' the waiter thought.

Pulling out a small sac of gold, she handed it to the man. "This should be more than enough to pay for his bill, as well for whatever else he asks for. Now, please go get him another bottle of sake, as he asked."

The waiter bowed slightly, leaving them, as the sorceress sat at the table, the place right across from Onion.

"Thanks," he mumbled. Looking up, he too noticed the triangle on her forehead. In the depths of his mind, he registered that she was a sorceress, but his thoughts were too clouded to make much of it.

"It was nothing," she replied, tucking her long, chocolate hair behind her ear. "May I inquire your name?"

"Onion…Onion Glace."

"People refer to me as Lady Pomme de Terre. A pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah, yeah," Onion replied, lazily waving his hand. He wasn't in the mood.

As the bottle of sake was brought over, Lady Pomme de Terre watched the man open it, drinking about a quarter of it in one swig.

He let out a breath, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"May I ask why you're drinking so much?" the sorceress questioned, trying to start a conversation.

"Aw, my brat kid was givin' me a hard time."

"Oh. You're married?"

"You could say that…my wife passed away, though."

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah…But that was a few years ago…" He took another swig from the bottle. "Ever since then, I've hada raise my two kids myself…"

"Oh? You have two of them?"

"Yeah. Two boys. My older one, Carrot, is the biggest pain in the…" He stopped, taking another drink from the bottle. "Scary thing is, he's acting more like _me_ everyday, and I don't want _that_ to happen…"

Lady Pomme de Terre leaned on the table. "What about your other boy?"

Onion put the bottle of sake down on the table. "Marron? Oh, he's a great kid…beautiful boy, really."

"Oh?"

"Yup! Looks a lot like his mother. Acts a lot like her, too. He's very intelligent, and gifted as well."

"Gifted? How so?"

"His magical abilities. Just like his mother."

Lady Pomme de Terre's interest seemed to perk up. "Magical abilities?"

"Yup. Ya see, Apricot, my wife – rest her soul – was an Eastern Magic user. Recently, though, we discovered that Marron was one too."

"Pois," the sorceress called over. The man standing behind her came up to her, and she whispered something in his ear. He nodded, leaving them for a moment.

Looking back at Onion, she said, "Tell me more about Marron."

"What's there ta say? He's a great kid…kinda a wimp when he was younger, though. He's growing out of that. I know he'll be a strong person…just like his mother was. He won't end up like me, that's for sure. Unlike his bum brother…he's already getting there…"

Pois returned, handing his mistress what seemed to be a document. Taking it from him, she turned back to Onion. "Well, I believe it is time Pois and I returned home."

She and Onion both got up. "Yeah…I suppose I better be getting back home as well. Thanks for…paying my bill…I wish there was some way to pay ya back…"

"Actually, there is." She handed him the document and an ink quill. "Just sign this. It's a contract. It allows me to request one thing from you, and you will be required to give it to me, no questions."

He took the writing utensil and the contract. "Sure thing!" he replied, scribbling his name in the right spot. He didn't even bother to read the paper. "Just one thing, right?"

"Right. One thing."

"Okay then." He handed her back the document. "Thanks again." And with that, he turned and walked out the open door.

She smirked suddenly, looking back down at the signature on the piece of paper. "No," she said quietly, "thank _you_, Onion Glace."

TBC

"Pois" is pronounced PWA. It's French.

Yeah…Okay…Please review!!


	3. Chapter 2

So I've finally updated this! Aren't you all proud of me? I've been so busy with school, it took a while to write it. But the good news is, I've already started on the next chapter! But please take a look at this one!

* * *

Slowly, pale eyes fluttered open, revealing tired amber orbs. The vision was blurred at first, and the eyes blinked a few times to focus. Finally, sight was cleared, and the eyes came to rest on a spiky-haired teen looking on, worriedly.

"Brother…?" came the soft, coarse whisper.

Carrot let out a small sigh, sitting back in his seat. Looking at the one in bed, he asked quietly, "How do you feel, Marron?"

"Alright, I suppose…" replied the younger. "Better than before. But what are you doing here, Brother? I though you were going with the others."

The other simply shrugged. "I was going to…but when your fever grew worse, I decided to stay behind. Besides, why should we have all the fun if you can't?"

"But you were looking forward to this vacation for a long time," Marron argued. "You wanted to go out for a while, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but I can do that anytime. Vacations will come and go, but you were sick now. Besides, there aren't too many chances when _I _get to take care of _you_…"

Looking at his older brother, the mage smiled slightly.

Returning the smile, the elder placed his hand on the other's forehead. "You're fever's gone down…Guess the medicine worked after all."

Carrot stood, walking over to a table. Watching him walk off, Marron slowly sat up. "What medicine?" he asked curiously.

The spiky-haired teen returned to his brother's bedside, handing the other a glass of water. "Grand Pa sent over some stuff to help you get better."

Taking a sip from the glass, the mage placed it down on the nightstand next to the bed. "How did it get here?"

Suddenly, the door swung open, and both teens looked to see a concerned Onion standing there.

Rushing over to the bed, the older man pushed Carrot aside, embracing the younger sitting on the bed.

Marron sighed slightly. He was afraid his father was here. As much as he cared for his father, he didn't enjoy the attention his father gave him. Perhaps, if Onion gave him less of it……

After a long moment, Onion pulled away, holding Marron at arm's length. "How are you feeling, Marron?"

"I'm alright now, Father," the mage replied, smiling slightly.

"Of course you are!" the man said proudly. "You're strong, after all! Stronger than this goofball…"

Carrot's eye twitched slightly as he got up. "Pop, what are you doing here?"

"I'm checkin' on my boy," he replied indignantly. "Besides, I have to make sure he's okay since _you're_ here…"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" the teen demanded a little loudly.

"Well, you're probably just making him worse……"

"Me?! _You're_ the one who bursts in here unexpectedly while he's trying to rest!"

As the father and son began to argue, Marron flinched slightly, their loud voices feeding his growing migraine. He never enjoyed it when the two argued, but he especially disliked it now.

Thankfully, Grand Pa walked in through the open door. Seeing the two argue, then looking at Marron, the small yet powerful man literally kicked them both out.

"Marron is still trying to recover," he said, "and you two aren't really helping." With that, Grand Pa closed the door on the two as they sat in the hallway.

They blinked for a moment, as if doubting that that had actually happened. Then, turning to his father, Carrot said, "Look what you did!"

"What _I_ did?!" Onion replied, looking back at the teen. "This is all _your _fault!"

"_My_ fault?!"

"Yes, you're fault! If you hadn't started yelling……!"

"Well, if you hadn't come in to begin with……!"

Onion got to his feet, dusting himself off. "Okay, look…..arguing didn't get us anywhere except kicked out. So for now, let's stop so we can make sure your brother gets better, alright?"

Getting up, the teen nodded. "Fine…"

And so, both father and son creaked open the door, just barely enough to look inside. They watched as Grand Pa instructed Marron to lie down, and the teen obeyed wordlessly. Then, the elder placed his hand on Marron's forehead. His hand began to glow slightly, and the teen's eyes closed as he fell into a peaceful sleep. Satisfied, the old man retracted his hand, turning and walking to the door.

Seeing him coming, Carrot and Onion pulled away from it, leaning on the wall of either side of it. They tried to act as cool as possible when Grand Pa came out.

"So how is he?" Onion asked as the smaller man closed the bedroom door.

"He'll be alright," he replied. "But he won't be completely healed for a while." The old man then looked at Carrot. "If you want to catch up with the others, you still have time."

The teen blinked slightly. "Really? I can?"

"Hmph." Onion folded his arms across his chest. "It wouldn't surprise me if he did. Leaving his younger brother while he went to have fun…"

"Shut up, old man!" Carrot growled. "It just so happens that I'm staying until Marron gets better, so there!"

The father was about to say something when Grand Pa began to drag him away. "Come Onion, let us go and greet Big Momma."

"Why?" he asked, but could do nothing as he was being dragged away.

Watching them go, Carrot sighed slightly. 'This week is already bad enough,' he thought. 'Now Pop's here…some vacation…'

After much hard work, Big Momma had decided to grant the Sorcerer Hunters a well-deserved vacation. All five of them had reservations to go to a beach resort to relax and have fun. They deserved it, Carrot thought, especially after defeating Sacher Torte.

Unfortunately, before they could go, Marron became sick, which was rather odd. Marron had never gotten ill before, and now seemed a strange time because of the beautiful warm weather. Still, concerned for the mage, Tira, Chocolate, and Gateau thought of postponing the trip, despite much whining from Carrot.

But Marron pleaded for them to go without him, wanting them all to enjoy their time off. He insisted that he would be alright, and that they deserved the time off, even if he couldn't join them. Marron also insisted that it would be an opportunity for Gateau to catch up with Éclair, insisting that she go in his place. They soon agreed to go in order to please him.

However, as they were going to leave, Marron's fever grew worse, and Carrot grew worried. He told the others to go without him, for he wanted to take care of his brother. The four left, Gateau and Éclair dragging Tira and Chocolate behind. The Misu sisters believed he was just using this as an opportunity to be away from them so he would chase girls, because they believed Marron would fine.

But, even if they lived with them when they were younger, Tira and Chocolate didn't know Marron as well as Carrot did.

Carrot could feel how weak Marron had become due to the illness. When they came in to say goodbye, the others had believed Marron had been sleeping, and indeed it had looked that way. But his brother knew better, and could tell Marron had collapsed because of his illness.

Days later, when Marron still had not awaken, Carrot voiced his concern to Big Momma. She then sent Milphey-Yu to the Sorcerer Hunters' Hidden Village to retrieve some medicine from Grand Pa. No one expected him and Onion to return with the Haz-Knight.

For Grand Pa to come down from the Hidden Village, Carrot knew that it meant something serious. He had felt Marron's illness wasn't a normal fever, but to have the old man come down made everyone realize how serious the infirmity was.

But where did it come from? They hadn't visited or seen anyone who was sick, and it had been a nice summer week. How could anyone, let alone Marron, suddenly become sick?

It worried Carrot to see his brother this way. Besides when he was a baby, Marron had never been sick before, and it seemed a strange time to start. It had come on so suddenly. It was so weird.

With another sigh, the spiky-haired teen carefully opened the door, quietly slipping into the room he shared with his brother. Looking at the sleeping figure on the bed, he smiled a little. "At least he's resting now," he said to himself.

He flopped on his bed, folding his arms under his head as he stared up at the ceiling. 'Well, I'm bored…' he thought. 'I've really got nothing to do for a long while…'

"I'm sorry…" came a soft whisper. Surprised, Carrot sat up, looking at Marron who was still lying on the bed, gold eyes staring up at the ceiling.

"Marron? I thought…"

"I'm sorry…" the younger repeated.

The elder Glace blinked. "For what?"

"If it wasn't for me, you would have been able to go with the others. I've ruined your vacation…"

"Hey…Marron…Listen, yeah I could have gone with the others, but it wouldn't have been as much fun without you there. I chose to stay behind, so it's okay. Besides, if it wasn't for you pulling my butt outta the fire all the time, I wouldn't be alive to enjoy anything. I owe ya, Marron."

The younger looked over at his brother who had a small grin on his face. Despite himself, he couldn't help but smile as well. "Well, Brother, if you want, you can go catch up with the others."

"Grand Pa already told me that, but I decided to stay until you get better."

"But Grand Pa said that I won't be completely healed until after our vacation's over…"

Carrot shrugged. "Then I'll wait until next time…"

"Are you sure?"

The elder simply waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. But only because I'm such a nice guy."

Marron tried to hold back a chuckle.

"But seriously Marron, you should get some rest."

"Alright…Will you be staying for a while?"

"I guess. I've really got nothing to do…"

"Okay." The mage closed his eyes and soon, a little too soon, fell asleep.

Carrot watched his brother for a while, surprised by the sudden slumber. 'There's something else wrong,' he thought. 'That has to be why the old man came down, there's no other reason. But then what's really wrong with him?'

Some distance away, unknown to those residing in the Stella Church, a young woman, accompanied by an elder man, possibly a servant, was checking into a place to rest for a few days.

The attendant, noting the young woman was a sorceress because of the marking on her forehead, pulled his book out to look for an open room. "Name please?" he asked.

"Lady Pomme de Terre," she replied.

_TBC_

There you go! Hope you enjoyed! Please review! 


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